A. A. Dowd’s “The Counselor” Talks Coen Brothers & Windshield Sex

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A portable noose? Gab sessions? Windshield sex? A. A. Dowd’s latest three-paragraph work, “The Counselor,” is written by a master of words, however the analysis is thin. Unfortunately for the reader, the extreme imagery overrides the content in each of the three paragraphs, which is sort of a win/lose for the audience. Can one not mention windshield sex? Unlikely.

Dowd’s The Counselor devotes one-third of the review to a fantastic opening paragraph about a portable noose, which Dowd ties into the overall theme of the film. Audiences should be pleased by the glorious introduction, and be highly entertained, but sadly the first mention of Michael Fassbender (The Counselor) at the end of paragraph will also be the last. One will likely pout at the dismissal, and compare the lack of Fessbender to critics leaving George Clooney out of their Gravity reviews. The audience demands Fassbender, especially when he is The Counselor.

The second paragraph of continues on with a second reference to No Country For Old Men, and manages to squeeze in a tiny bit of analysis on the gab sessions of the film before referencing Killing Them Softly. The entire paragraph is fantastic, although one will likely walk away and think “Ok, the script has some unneeded dialogue.” So far we have a portable noose and gab sessions. What could be next? Windshield sex?

Dowd’s The Counselor concludes with a beefy paragraph that once again references No Country For Old Men—3/3! Dowd’s final paragraph is clearly the best, and provides the reader with some thoughts on the look of the film and the direction of Ridley Scott.

By the end of The Counselor, Dowd manages to bring the portable noose full circle, and connect it to the intriguing windshield sex. It sounds like a great Coen brothers film.

A. A. Dowd’s The Counselor is an entertaining read, but fails to penetrate deep into the film as a whole.